TV ads that steal from games

How Mario Galaxy, GTA IV and MW2 ended up in TV ads...

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So there we are on a Tuesday evening, watching the TV, when the commercial break comes on. Advert for Insurance. Advert for baby milk. Advert for some shit movie we're never going to watch. Advert for cheaper gas. Advert for... hang on a sec. Thatadvert for gas was a rip off of the Super Mario Galaxy planets!

That's what started it off. And now we've spotted a bunch of other ads which robbed from games. (Click image for adverts).

Super Mario Galaxy in
British Gas

The advert

The game

How it rips it off: How obvious do you need to make it? Just check out the design of those little planets in the advert. British Gas has run a whole campaign of these ads which pay more than just homage to the Wii game.

Modern Warfare in
Army Recruitment

The advert

The game

How it rips it off: The British Army has already been criticised in some quarters for making war look like a game in its recruitment ads. In this particular campaign it's so blatantly ripping of Call of Duty (and any other military FPS) it's shocking.

Grand Theft Auto IV
in Aviva

The advert

The game

How it rips it off: This is very subtle, admittedly, and is more about location, framing and Ringo Starr's slight resemblance to Niko Bellic. But first time we saw this it instantly reminded us of the GTA IV lead character rolling round the streets of Liberty City in a cab. (Ringo is in New York).

Uncharted in Nescafe
Blended Coffee

The advert

The game

How it rips it off: It's a man in the jungle, wearing identical clothing to Nathan Drake, who also happens to be an explorer looking for lost treasure; in this case blended instant coffee. Check out the full advert to see the temple he enters for further proof of the advert's inspiration.

Note: These ads are all UK-centric. However, we've linked to the ad in question in each case, so you can watch it anyway. If you can be bothered.

Any other TV or cinema ads you've seen that rip off games? Let us know in the usual channels onFacebookandTwitteror in the comments below.